IPhone still has the edge in smart phones

Published 4:00 am, Monday, October 26, 2009

Q:My wireless service contract will expire soon, so I'm looking for a new mobile phone. I want the coolest phone I can get and was considering either an iPhone or a Palm Pre. Then I started to see commercials for the Droid and the myTouch, which seem to be at least the equal of the others. How would you rate all these contenders?

A:Apple's iPhone opened the door for the latest generation of smart phones - phones that in effect are handheld computers connecting you to the Internet. The Palm Pre, which came out earlier this year, was the first true competition to the iPhone.

And now the market is heating up with phones like the Motorola Droid and the HTC myTouch, which use Google's Android operating system.

Right now, the iPhone still has the edge, mostly because of the vast library of applications that can run on it. But Android, with its open-source software, could catch up - and with multiple handsetmakers and wireless carriers betting on Android, Apple could soon find itself in a pitched battle for market supremacy.

Curiously, Microsoft is nowhere to be seen in this battle royal. Since 2007, when Apple launched the iPhone and Google announced plans for Android, Microsoft has been unable to get a meaningful new version of its Windows Mobile operating system out the door.

Q:I remember reading somewhere that it's not possible to upgrade directly from Windows XP to Windows 7. Can you say more about this? Also, can you install Windows 7 on more than one computer?

A: Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is a breeze. From Windows XP, not so much. In fact, "upgrading" from XP to Windows 7 is similar to installing the operating system from scratch. In the process, all of the data and programs on your hard drive will be erased - as in "bye, bye," "so long," "adios."

So before you perform the upgrade, you must save all of your documents, photos, music, etc., to an external hard drive, a CD, a DVD, or a flash drive. When the upgrade is complete, you can reload your data. Oh, and did I mention that you'll have to reinstall all your programs?

By the way, before going out and getting Windows 7, you should find out whether your XP computer meets the requirements of the new system. To do that, go to microsoft.com and search for Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, a downloadable program that will tell you if your computer is Windows 7-worthy.

As for your second question, the $120 Home Premium Windows 7 upgrade can be installed only on one computer. For $150, Microsoft will sell you the upgrade with licenses for three computers.

One last thought: If you're happy with Windows XP, upgrading to Windows 7 might not be worth the cost or the hassle.

Q:Before I purchased a MacBook Pro in 2008, I had used a laptop with Windows XP for several years. I am an avid photographer and had used Microsoft's Picture It photo-editing program.

After switching to the Mac I realized that there seemed to be no similar program with a good balance between ease-of-use and features. I use iPhoto (which came with the Mac) for basic editing, but I want something more powerful. Any suggestions?

A: For serious amateurs, there are a couple of good programs that won't break the bank. One is Photoshop Elements for Mac ($79.99 from adobe.com). Like its counterpart for Windows, it boasts many of the features found in the full version of Photoshop, the standard for professional photographers.

Another option is Pixelmator, an image-editing program exclusively for Macs. Although relatively new, it has made a name for itself and has a devoted following. You can get it for $59 at pixelmator.com.

Q:I have a long list of Internet Explorer Favorites, many of which I never use. Is there a way to delete multiple Favorites simultaneously, or am I stuck doing it one at a time?

A: The Internet Explorer browser makes no provision for dumping Favorites (also called bookmarks) en masse - but it can be done. If you open the folders containing the Favorites, you can select multiple entries by clicking them while pressing the Ctrl key, then delete them by pressing the Delete key. The Favorites folder and sub folders are inside your User folder under Documents and Settings on your C: drive.

Here's another idea: Switch to Firefox (free at firefox.com), which lets you delete multiple bookmarks using the same technique described above, but from within the browser.